O’Shea making his way toward Bomber head coaching history

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers hired Mike O’Shea following a period of high turnover at the head coaching position. Seven different men served as the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during the 1990s; six more served in the ten years prior to O’Shea’s hiring. Constant change at the head coaching spot makes it impossible for a team to establish a winning culture — it is a result (and cause) of habitual organizational failure.

Habitual failure was the name of the game prior to O’Shea’s arrival in Winnipeg. Now, with things looking up in the ‘Peg, there’s no reason to believe a change at the coaching position is imminent.

O’Shea took over as the Bombers’ head coach in December of 2013 and has since led the team through four regular seasons. Though the club posted disappointing records in O’Shea’s first two years at the helm (2014, 7-11; 2015, 5-13), the blue and gold have posted 23 regular season victories over the past two seasons (2016, 11-7; 2017, 12-6), the second-most of any CFL team over that span.

O’Shea now sits tied with Mike Riley at fifth all-time in regular season games coached with the Bombers at 72.

Riley, 64, won two Grey Cups in Winnipeg (1988, 1990) before departing for the San Antonio Riders of the now-defunct World League of American Football. Though he’s completed three-year head coaching stints with both the San Diego Chargers (1999-2001) and Nebraska (2015-2017), Riley’s spent most of the past two decades at Oregon State (1997-1998; 2003-2014; 2018-present).

Jauch, 80, came to Winnipeg following a seven-year stint as the head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos during which he captured one Grey Cup (1975). Jauch posted a 45-35 record during his tenure in Winnipeg, though his club never made it past the dynasty-era Eskimos in the playoffs.

Ritchie, 79, joined the Bombers following head coaching stints in B.C. (1993-1995) and Montreal (1997-1998). Ritchie led the club back to respectability following two disastrous years under Jeff Reinebold, eventually reaching (though not winning) a Grey Cup in 2001. Ritchie was fired partway through the 2004 season following a disappointing 2-5 start to the season.

Murphy led the Bombers to a 99-80-3 record over eight seasons as the club’s head coach. Winnipeg never missed the playoffs under Murphy and reached two Grey Cups, winning in 1984. Murphy also won two Grey Cups as the club’s general manager, a role he held during and between his two head coaching stints. Murphy, a native of Winnipeg, passed away in 2012 at the age of 79.

Grant, 90, won four Grey Cups in Winnipeg during his ten-year stint as the team’s head coach. Grant left Winnipeg in 1967 to become the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings where he posted a 158-95-6 record in almost two decades with the team. Though Grant led the Vikings to four Super Bowls, his club failed to win one. A statue of Grant now resides outside of Investors Group Field.

O’Shea is under contract with the Bombers through 2019. Assuming he remains in Winnipeg through the length of that deal, O’Shea would sit top-three in club history with 108 regular season games coached.

The next step for O’Shea will be having his club’s regular season success pour over into the post-season. O’Shea has yet to win a playoff game as a CFL head coach, something each of his aforementioned predecessors accomplished numerous times (Jauch, 2; Ritchie, 3; Riley, 6; Murphy, 7; Grant, 15).

64 Comments on O’Shea making his way toward Bomber head coaching history

Nice to see more Canadian Head Coaches in recent yeats: O’Shea, Wally Buono, Rick Campbell (US-born, but Canadian raised), Jacques Chapdelaine and Mike Benevides.
I’d like to see Noel Thorpe, Blake Nill and Glen Constantin get Head Coaching jobs in the CFL innthe near future. They’ve certainly paid their dues.

I;m not sure if Nill or Constantin go to the CFL. Seems they would have already done so by now. Some guys just can’t make the jump to the pros. You have to deal with a different type of player. Perhaps these 2 feel that way. My opinion anyways

But lots of examples of “failed” Canadian coaches.
I want to see the best coaches out there not because they are Canadians.
Rick Campbell does have a Canadian connection but he is NCAA trained. Compared to the NCAA the CIS is a part-time coaching gig.
NCAA coaches operate at a much higher level, bigger faster players and they play twice as many games as a CIS coach and it’s a full time job.

The NCAA experience on a resume puts you miles ahead of a CIS coach.
If we are going to judge success by Grey Cups and Grey Cup appearances then Rick Campbell would have to be the number one coach in the CFL.
A head coach for 4 years, 3 times in the playoffs, 2 Grey Cup appearances and 1 Grey Cup Championship

Record of 35 W – 37 L
I would suggest until the Grey Cup is won in Winnipeg. Or at least OShea’s above record represents something more like a 79W – 48L
completes record. Then there is nothing for the Bombers or Winnipeg fans to be proud of.
It is what it is right now. 2 horrible seasons followed by 2 good seasons. To me that means nothing more than he’s heading in the right direction. Guess what Sports fans… that’s what he gets paid for. The next 2 seasons are simple. Continue to improve or win the big one and stay on. Or if you start to slip and return to the Bombers team struggling than your finished.
For now there is no history in the making. Just business as usual.

Bomber fans twisting words. Chill people chill! Get as excited as you want or should as the Bombers are heading in the right Direction. That’s great!!! No need to take a stab at Rider fans. What is said is… THERE IS NO HIDTORY BEING MADE! Not at 35W-37L. A lot of Bomber Coaches have done much better. Saying there is no History being made is a big difference from don’t get excited. IMHO.

So we’re not allowed to get excited? Theres been a dark cloud over this organization since the 4th quarter of the 2007 eastern final when KG got his arm broken. Nothing has seemingly gone right for the Bombers since then (be it bad luck or bad management). The last two years have improved over the year previous and back to back playoff appearances for the first time in a while. I would counter your argument that there is something to be proud of there. Did they get the ultimate prize? No, but they have continued to improve and despite what some people think or say are a legitimate GC contender.

I agree Chris. I’m one of the Rider fans that doesn’t despise the Bombers and have watched them improve. This year should be entertaining, and with Muamba potentially in the mix, your Bombers could be a threat this year.

3&1 interesting comment from you. Other than 2014 Bombers have had a better winning record than Riders not to mention Riders placed last twice and fourth once. Glass houses? Both teams need improvement!

No one is saying that Chris Jones is making history with the Riders. He’s doing exactly the same as OShea. He’s taking the team in the right direction Blue. No need to get your shit tied in a knot. My first post is an open and honest assessment of the situation. OShea is doing what he’s getting paid to do. If he hadn’t pulled Willy when he did and go with Nichols. I mean Willy was about as ready to be a starting CFL QB as Justin Trudeau is to bring the PM of Canada. With out the switch OShea would be long gone.
I never insulted anyone. People are way to sensitive here. I’m calling a spade a spade. Get excited just as Rider fans are for their team.
Damn it you know I stood up for Nick Demsky getting to Winnipeg to play out every home town boys dream. Plus the young man plays hard and fast. If he stays healthy… look out! He can be Winnipeg’s Sinopolis or back in the day the Riders Fantuz.
However OShea is not making history. He is going in the right direction. Nothing more. If Winnipeg wins the GC under OShea then History is made. Or until his wins are at least 25% more than his loses. So chill my good Bomber fan chill! For when you do, you will turn blue and that is the color you need to be. As the CFLs giant green monster needs good clean fun blue competiton.

Perhaps we both misunderstood each other, I never intended to suggest anything negative towards the Riders. I was only pointing out the irony of a comment like that from a team’s fan when the two teams are not far apart, other than 2013 in recent history. Please except my apologies. I’m very aware (and made comments to you) that you have been fair.

Coincidental with the turnaround, was the acquisition of Matt Nichols. There is a reason the QB is the most important position (and best paid). A top QB can make a middle-of-the-pack team a winner but the converse is not necessarily the case. Coach O’Shea did not have the transformation – he was (and is a very good coach and deserving of the position) and the team was (and is) a good team – rather the team did with the leadership and play of MN.

Tough to win. 1/2 the people out there trash Nichols in general, or call him “adequate, a game manager” and then you go and (allow me to paraphrase) call him the only reason for their success.
My beef with O’Shea was just that I felt like “Here we go again… another rookie head coach”. Well, that’s not the case anymore – and I like what we have now in coaching, I just wish someone else had first went through the pain of breaking O’Shea in :^)
Nichols plays a big role, that Harris/Flanders thing is a pain for other D’s and helps keeps Nichols off the ground.
BUT… the single biggest difference over the last two years is the development of the O line. Maybe Adarius gives us some big play potential to balance off our ground-and-pound game. Here’s hoping.

That was the dumb TSN analyst including the arrogant wr that won nothing in Winnipeg..Nichols had back to Back injuries that cost him his first opp to start…sat behind Ricky Ray! tillman wanted a guy he picked to start…they sucked…then he got into playoffs and balled then broke his ankle! Came back leading the battle vs Mike Reilly then blew his knee! CAME BACK and went 5-2 in Reilly’s absence to help EE win a Cup! McEndoo doo didn’t like him because he was already well coached! Hahaha…Tsn knows nothing about the QB position including the concussed roid user on panel that played the position! Game manager…hahaha…what was Willy if Nichols was a Game manager…hahahaha

Sorry to burst you bubble a third time man called Horse. There is just now way that Calgary is going to win the GC with several young replacements at key positions. No doubt that Huff has ready and willing players to step in as replacements. However it’s impossible to replace Team leaders like Charleston and Messam and Daniels. I remember watching both Montreal and SK after both teams appeared in 2 consecutive Grey Cups in 2009-10. It took SK a few years to replace those leaders and make the 2013 run at the Cup and Montreal has never ever replaced their biggest leader of all; Calvino. Of course Calgary dosent have that issue.
I would put both Edm and SK ahead of Calgary this year. Plus this may be the year the Bombets break the 26 year long drought. However my money is in the EE and or the Riders.

I have to disagree. Although I’m not a Stamps fan, when you have Davis, Law & Vaughters, 3 young DE’s of that calibre, Hughes is the easy choice for odd man out. That’s not to say he may not have a good year left in him. I assume you mean McDaniels, not Daniels, as he, Jorden & Michel are 3 very good receivers. McDaniel, although upset at the time, can’t be pointing fingers elsewhere after the Cup & showed his “leadership qualities” there. He hasn’t been picked up anywhere yet. The only question is at RB. Emmanuel Davis is a good replacement for Campbell. The core of the team is there & they got younger. Your team picked up experience & got older. I like Collaros but he, like Durant before him, is 3 years removed from a good season. Despite the hype at the time we all know how that worked out before, so you just don’t know. The Riders have large holes to fill at LT, CB & all 3 LB positions. I won’t get into that again but, despite my dislike for the Stamps, both the Esks you mention & the Stamps are better teams right now IMO. There’s still camps & the draft to go. So we’ll see how it shakes out.

I think it’s the evolution of the O’line has been a bigger factor, Nichols second, then the coaching staff (LaPolice & O’Shea specifically) but who knows… you may be righter then me!
But lets agree on one thing: the biggest difference in 2018 will be the replacement of Sam Hurl… hell…we can replace him with a pylon and save a ton of money, and have no drop off in play! (ok… that is officially my last shot at poor old Sam a3s a Bomber. From here on out, he’s just another Rider :^).

The biggest factor is LaPolice. LaPo has designed the offence around Nichols strengths which is a “Nichol & Dime Offence”. I know that riles Bomber fans but the proof is in the pudding & it works so why complain? Nichols has the lowest yds/completion % of all starters & the lowest completion % of passing plays over 20 yds (26/78 or 33%) except for Zach Collaros (sorry Rider fans). The reliance on Harris, 128 targets, 105 completions (record for a RB) is part of it. Of Harris’ 857 receiving yds, YAC was 660 meaning that only 197 (the difference) were in the air. So the average pass to Harris before YAC was 1.88 yds. The Bombers were also last in big play passing (passes of 30+ yds). All this helps the OL as they ranked very well on pressures allowed. The ball was never in Nichols’ hands long enough to require holding blocks for a long time. The fact is Nichols is not a great deep ball thrower but runs a short dump & run offence like the Bombers employ very effectively. This takes advantage of their biggest weapon, Harris. I think Bowman will help open up the offence tag teaming with Adams. You may not like to hear it but it is what it is.

But he has the Best win % of all QBs since he became the starter. Hahaha…Wins are what counts and O’Shea is to blame for the 2 playoff losses! Have to have deep threats to go deep! Ricky Ray doesn’t live with the deep ball nor did bo Levi in 17! Hahah Ricky Ray gets it out quick…Cavillo got it out quick…lol Brady gets it out quick…thats Lapo’s offense…amazing no other QB has had success in Winnipeg but a Winner that was 5-2 on a team that won the grey cup is now being criticized for winning???? Hahahaha…Harris didn’t win in BC before coming to Winnipeg hahahaha…you know nothing greenenvy? Lmao

I agree that LaPo is a huge factor. Is there anyone who better designs an offence to the player’s strengths? As for the short passing attack, the BBs have been very thin at deep threat. Adams was making deep plays, but after he was injured, there was no talent. Dressler is best on medium crossing routes. Denmark dropped off last year. The new kids didn’t work out. So I think LaPo designed the offence for the receivers he had rather than a weakness in Nichols. IMO

Blue Rules: If you take another look, I said that Rick Campbell was born in the U.S., but Canadian raised, NOT Mike O’Shea.
As for the comment that some highly qualified Canadian coaches, such as Blake Nill and Glen Constantin, aren’t adaptable to the CFL, I question that. I think it’s just prejudice from some of the U.S. born General Managers.
Ever notice how many southern-U.S. born or based General Managers there are? Chris Jones, Eric Tillman, Jim Popp, Kavis Reed. I think their mindset to hire staffs loaded with good old boys from down south in dixie is more the problem.

On one hand, I also question thinking Canadian coaches aren’t adaptable. That was the claim by some when Marshall was fired from being HC for the Cats. The lack of success for a long string of HC’s after that IMO clearly shows that the problems were bigger than the HC.

Don’t recall anything about Nill but I recall a Larks fan saying Constantine wanted total control … which typically isn’t given to a rookie HC.

As for prejudice … maybe but where one is already familiar with other coaches, it may be as simple as taking the “less effort/easy” route.

Here’s to the sports soar’s that never heal. The more people poke at them the worse you feel. There no soap on this side of hell that will wash away that losing smell. Long live the chokesters that always fail. In red and white will they ever prevail. The Blues have been waiting forever, I think since King Tutt was around. To finally win and boast the CFL crown. With Durant at the helm the red white and blue, well last year they were just Boo! The Orange in 18, well with Ed Hersey let’s just hope they’ve been renewed. The blue and white came alive last year and found things just right. At 3rd and five and their life on the line. Rookie of the year Wilder, well he did it, he did it just fine. Then at the end of the Championship game came a chuck when Bo Levi put it up and man was that Yuck! The Black and Gold have no where to go but up. An all star QB that’s still a pup. He’s still not signed and making lots of noise everywhere, eventually needs to play and just shut up. From the 2 that are left and from what Ive seen. Green with gold and the green with white. Will be in for a hell of a fight. As these two teams have been pushing hard. Both have gotten stronger and the Riders no longer have a question mark at the heart of the team. With Brandon and Zack there is no doubting . Collaros will get back to being highly touting. It will be tough as we all know. MOP Reilly plays with a lot of stuff. Yet one of these 2 teams is my 2018 pick. As the one who rises to the top of the thick.
There is no questioning that 2018 CFL playoffs will be smash. With the Bombers, Stamps and Argos all push to be the Champs.
So get your tickets and your cable packages ready to go. Cause soon it’s CFL season and you all know. We’re all football junkies and we’ve been jonesing. Waiting to see and wanting to knowsing who climbs to the top or the ugly ones who flop. The ones who almost gets there then fall short. Or the one who shouldn’t be there but beats the odds

Gag me please.
The only reason O’shea has coached so many games is because his college teammate buddy general manager is just as incompetent. Toss in Wade Miller and you have a trio.
Things got better in Winnipeg when Andrew Harris came home and that had nothing to do with O’Shea. These boys are in over their head. Bombers will not win this year Muamba or not. i know – just wait and see.

Got better when they Got a Consistent QB Period! Harris missed games…they still won 12…hahaha when you don’t have a true #1 WR…hahaha…notice when they were forced to bring Denmark back in 16 how they started to roll! Because he knew the offense! Bowman will help immensely but Winnipeg is Winnipeg…26 and counting!

Edward, it may be what you ment but it is not what you stated, “nice to see more Canadian head coaches in recent years: O’Shea, Wally Buono, Rick Campbell ( US-born but Canadian raised)” then you moved forward with 2 other Canadian coaches. As to the second part of your comment, that should be directed to Rocky Mountain High. Not Blue rules. I don’t think I was wrong in this case.

To Yup I would sayYup!
The more you rub it the better it feels.
Long ones, strong ones, little curly blonde ones. Neat ones sweet ones on the toilet Seat ones.
McLean and Mclean. They loved sports, they loved a good buddy of mine that played for the original Jets when Bobby Hull was there. Sadly my good friend passed a couple years ago now. Man could Mckean and McLean make us laugh until the muscles in your stomach would hurt and then ache.

Ya great coach alright he knows how to shut his mouth about Cunningham and was informed. The Bombers Still allowed him to play and sent him to free agent probably knowing Cummings would be charged. They could have suspended him pending the outcome of the charges in the off season. Then shut their mouth knowing Cummings was charged in April and allowed him to still play. What other underhanded are they up to in this league.

Blue
A good coach would have told the Eskimos about Cummings instead of knowing and standing back. What would of happened if the Eskimos found out coming in to playoffs against the Bombers nothing but turmoil for the Eskimos and could have thrown them off their game.
Besides coaches do talk to one another about players or there would be no trading going on in the league. This is a cover up on O’Shea part over Cummings and really know still knows why he shut up about it instead of in forming the Eskimos coach.

Quote….”What happened to suspended based outcome of pending sexually charges.

If the charges came in April then would it not be up to the commissioner to step in and suspend Commings and cancel his contract.

Is the Eskimos that misinformed of who on their roster they don’t know the background of their players.

Harvey know he was covering his tracks by signing Commings know if caught play dumb.” Unquote

pennyrocker March 11 2018 1.11pm. pennyrocker these are your words!! Bombers did the right thing,they reported it to the CFL, the CFL (pardon the pun) dropped the ball. Commings could have ended up anywhere in North America, are the Bombers expected to call everyone who could end up with Commings?? The CFL once informed needed to take action. You may continue your argument but you are now arguing with yourself.

The league has the final say on contracts, as we’ve seen with Briles, Cox etc & with Cummings. Regardless of who knew what when, if the Bombers informed the league the league office should have monitored the situation & acted. Let’s not overcomplicate things. It’s not about absolving someone because it’s your team, which happens too often.

Agreed. When will the tall foreheads (?) learn that they are business partners, and that the on-field teams are the only antagonists? Anything that makes the league look bad reflects on all, and, in the final analysis, hurts revenue. It is in the best interest of all management teams to police themselves. This isn’t rocket science.
PS. funny: the spam proof below has been upgraded from grade 2 math (from the usual 1+2=3)to….uh….grade 4 math with 4×9=36 BABY STEPS! BABY STEPS!

The school system has failed TOTALLY!! It is hard to find a single post that doesn’t contain spelling and grammatical diarrhea. I would be curious to know what level of education each poster attained, to confirm my opening statement, and serve as an indictment against the halls of learning in our country. Sad!

The Bombers have made the most Grey Cup appearances….have the third most wins and it would be nice to see Mike O’Shea add to those totals…Perseverance will return the club to the glory days and he’s well on his way

It must be the “innernet” that causes some people to post unintelligible glop and think that they’re speaking English . Everybody is in a hurry . Here is an example from the CFL site. A story about Bo Levi Mitchell describes his “training regiment”. Does anyone bother to edit anymore? Where is the intellectual curiosity ? Don’t blame the schools if you are too lazy to learn proper grammar and spelling. Git off of yer lasy buttox and respect the written word .

I don’t know who else to blame? Back in the day, in order to be promoted to the next grade, it was necessary to pass exams. Now, it is mandatory to push kids on to the next grade. Thus, they don’t need to learn anything…no responsibility…none. That is why people from other countries come here, and ask: why don’t Canadians know how to read, write, and speak English. ie.(this one takes the cake) A current Alzheimer’s commercial airs frequently.The lady who is doing the narrative refers to it as all-timers, or something. Really! The association hired her to solicit donations, and NOBODY bothered to even listen/edit the commercial !!! Many, if not most, of the posters here would have failed grade 4 English. A friend’s son has a high-paying, management position in government, and he can’t put together back-to-back coherent sentences.

DAKAZ, just a note, Alzheimer’s phonetic spelling….. Alz hei mer’s, it’s pronounced…./Altz himerz/ when pronounced properly there is a t sound. Not sure if that is what you are hearing. Hope this helps, otherwise disregard

Just my opinion is a few of the bumbers probably including O’Shea went out on the town got drunk and stoned. They hired a few escorts and Cummings got a little too rough. O’Shea would shut up about the incident if he was part of the group.

Pennyrocker, you are OFFSIDE. Cummings, by his actions, and subsequent criminal charges, may have invited scrutiny, and supposition. However, attaching O’Shea to the equation is wholly inappropriate, defamatory,
and probably cause for libel. I am surprised that this site has not removed your post.